Butterick 4657

(reference previous post )

I found a picture of the original dress I made, unfortunately I am rather annoyed that I did not taken one when she had it on.  It looked absolutely stunning on her with her tanned skin and dark hair.  It fitted her beautifully, unlike the model :(

The pattern needed a lot of alteration .  The lady came to me with the pattern and fabric from a shop.  Unfortunately, I do not think the shop employs someone who is a dressmaker and the lining was not suitable for the design, also, because of the pale colour of the chiffon, everything needed to be doubled so that it did not look washed out.  It took me a long time to work out how to alter the pieces and cut out the fabric so that it would all be able to come out of what she had bought !!!! 

I would always suggest someone speaks to a dressmaker first before they purchase anything, could save time and money .

It really is a beautiful dress, but if you are tempted to get the pattern, make a sample one first.

One of the things I did was to use a skirt size 2x bigger than was suggested so that the skirt folds were nicer.

I still struggle to look at this picture as I know how nice it looked on her.

  She brought the brooch with her, a friend of hers makes jewellry, nice to have friends like that :)

It finishes the dress off lovely.

If anyone does buy the pattern and needs advice, feel free to get in touch.

For the Wedding Dress I had to downsize a 14,16,18,20 pattern, down to a size 10.  Instead of a brooch I decided to put on lace and beading.  I also made the skirt long, with a slight train on the back and one day will take a picture properly :)  I am very pleased with it .

Happy Sewing x

Wedding Fayre

Uploaded some photos of the dresses , jacket and bag I took to the wedding fayre.

I made this dress before , in a pale peach chiffon and really liked the style of it, so I decided to do my own take on the original and create it in ivory, as a wedding dress.

However I did have to alter the original pattern by a considerable amount, to get it like this.  I also lengthened it from the original .  I added some lace, with beading and sequins.

The full length photo is a bit hazy as I left my camera in the car, where it was cold, and in Leigh park Hotel, it was humid, so that is actually mist on the photo and no amount of editing will sort that out !!

I also took some items I have shown before , except I have now made a clutch bag to go with the red jacket .  It really was a lovely day, even though outside it was a different story.  I don't think the rain stopped the whole time we were there. There were no cars or horses and carriages at this one !!!

Beautiful Bride xx

Today I received an email with these gorgeous pictures. This is my bride that I have written about in two previous posts and I couldn't be prouder of the how lovely she looks when all dressed up . 

Cant Wait Any Longer !!

This post is connected to the previous post, which shows ideas and information I was given.

I do not have any official photographs because Emily only got married yesterday, but I do have some that we took on completion. I look forward to seeing some when she is all dressed up properly.

After our first talk, I knew she did not want anything too fussy. The main focus was to be the lace.
I ordered this from www.bridallaceandfabric.co.uk  They very kindly sent me a sample and , after looking at several different types of laces we decided on the best one.

Here is the final dress.

I love this dress, and most importantly, the Bride and her Mum do too .

It was a pleasure to create Emily her dream dress .

The main body of the skirt is Satin, with a Chiffon overlay.

The buttons down the back are covered in the lace, because, for me , the back of a wedding dress is just as important as the front as this is what people are looking at throughout the ceremony.

  

Ooooh Excited !!

Cant wait !! Cant show you the proper dress yet, the bride is getting married tomorrow but I love the dress I have recently finished.  As a bit of a pre-lim to the actual pictures I thought I would write a post on the ideas that she came to me with. 
I often get people come to me with some pictures of dresses which the person likes a bit of one and some of another but has had no luck finding the RIGHT one .
My bride to be came to me with some pictures, and she had also been to see another dressmaker too, who had created a drawing for her based on what she thought the dress would look like. Our 2 ideas were totally different even though we had been told the same things.
So, the Bride to be went off and considered, and came back to me because she liked my idea.  Which I consider very lucky, because my drawing is not especially good !!!! Something I really need to work on .
Here are some of the comments and pictures that I had to work with

I dont know if the writing might be a bit small to read, but it basically says everything I needed to know about the style she wanted. Top part of lace, with an asymmetrical ruched part, Aline skirt with a bit of volume and train.  Quite simple but elegant , no jewels or crystals .

I just hope the weather is kind tomorrow !! I have been telling her it is always nice in September , its my birthday tomorrow and it usually is a nice day !!!  I have a new rule now, never talk about the English weather !! Really, nothing is a given anymore !! The weather forecast is not too great !!

I just hope she has a lovely day.

All Dressed Up for Prom Night

Here is my prom girl, in her dress, she looks gorgeous, her hair is fabulous and make up too.  She lives across the road from me and so she popped over so that I could see everything together.  Her belt and shoes are from Next.  She hugged me again, and considering her age and the fact that she does not really know me, I thought that was lovely.  I am so pleased to have made this, although, I do hope she doesnt cry in it , as she keeps saying she loves it so much she wants to cry !! LOL   It would spoil her gorgeous makeup.

Grecian style Prom Dress

Grecian style Prom Dress, a photo by Paula Goldstraw on Flickr.    Aaah , there is usually a way around these things.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I wouldnt be able to wear it myself !!! LOL  But for the 16 yr old , slim, lovely girl !!! Its perfect . Hopefully will actually get some pictures of her in it.

Prom Time !!

Well, this year I have been working on several dresses, bridesmaids, proms and a wedding dress, which I cant show yet .
 I have been a bit lax on taking photos and following up my clients for photos.
However, one of my favourite styles has to be the 'Grecian ' look and I had the chance to make a prom dress for a dot of a girl !.. Size 6-8 and very petite.  I have actually taken a photo before she takes it away this week , just incase I dont get around to getting one of her in it. Its two layers of ivory chiffon over a lining of crepe de chine so that its not see through !!


Well, I know I have been away a while, but it wont let me upload a picture !! Anybody got any suggestions

Taking Photos !!!! Tips to try !!!

Well, I put my evening bag into my Folksy shop . I asked for some opinions and got feedback to say that (as usual ) the photography could be better so I have been reading and reading about tips on how to take a good photo !!! In fact my eyes hurt looking so long at the laptop !!! So, I am starting off with my original photo and I am on a mission to make it better.

First thing to do, weather permitting is go outside !!!!! It better be warm(ish !!), thats all I can say, I dont think frost is good for me LOL

The sources I have read from suggest natural light, early morning in the shade, or second best is a cloudy day. Both of which are very likely tomorrow ( Sources are previous tips saved from Etsy and some from Folksy x)

Another tip was to have a simple background, your item should be the star !!! Ok, so I think I can manage those two no problem.

The next tip was to make sure the photo is crisp and clear. Sometimes , if you go to close its going to blur your item so may be better to take from a little distance . This one I struggle with !!!

Anyway, I am going to try these tomorrow, and sign off now because, as I said , my eyes hurt and are a little bit tired !!!

Wish me luck !!!

Back View

Hi, hope everyone who reads this is well. Just thought I would show the back of the wedding dress sash from a previous blog showing the front of it.

I like to do my bows in seperate pieces, because I like them to stay in place exactly as I make them, I do not think a sash that you tie into a bow looks as nice on a wedding dress.

First I made the pieces that hang down the back. I used chiffon and bound the top edge with some satin because its firmer, and I was stitching this to the dress on one side of the zip. Then I put a popper on the dress and the bound edge. This means it will not hang off anywhere.

Then I made my bow pieces in chiffon, with a satin in the middle bit. I did start to bead this but found that because of the design on the front being wavy, it did not look right with similar beads on the bow. I had to unpick all my hard work !!!!!!

Being a perfectionist is a blessing and a curse xxx

(he he he )

So I opted for the gorgeous sew on Swarovski and used the philosophy , less is more.

The dress is gone now, I am working on other projects at the moment . I hope you have enjoyed looking at my creation x

Re-styling a dress

One project I have just done is a little unusual, and not at all easy.

A young lady comes to me every now and then with unusual requests, and this was no different, she brought me a dress

The problem was, she did not like the top of the dress, wanted it taken off and a new one put on.

I told you it was unusual.

Problem one; she wanted a top with floaty sleeves.

Problem two; dress has a side zip . A top with sleeves can not have a side zip !!!!

Oh yes, and there was no centre back seam on the skirt.!!!

I love problem solving and a challenge, just as well in my job.

I made a muslin top with floaty sleeves with a centre back seam. I found the centre back of the skirt, marked it and stitched a V shape around it because it was made of chiffon and would have frayed !!!

We had a fitting, just to make sure everything was to her liking and it was fine.

There was no way to find a matching colour, so we picked a contrasting one for the top.

Made the top and attached it to the skirt.

For the centre back I used the sash that had been around the waist, to surround the raw edges before inserting the zip.

I made a little flower, using a technique I found on a blog, to bring both colours together. Unfortunately I can't remember the blog, otherwise I would happily tell you where I got it from. I changed the technique because I could not find the blog again and repeat it !!!!! I was quite happy with the result though. Here is the finished dress